1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed technology relates generally to electromechanical devices, and relates more specifically to a nanoelectromechanical switch device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Nanoelectromechanical systems, as generally understood in the industry, are microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scaled down to sub-micron feature sizes. Nanoelectromechanical devices in the sub-micron size regime can have some device characteristics not that may not be attainable in MEMS, owing to, for example, the high surface-to-volume ratio and ultralow active masses (e.g., in the femtogram range). One category of such devices, nanoelectromechanical switches (NEMS) can offer an alternative transistors in logic or memory applications. In some aspects, NEMS may offer several advantageous device characteristics compared to transistors. For example, NEMS may offer higher Ion/Ioff ratios compared to transistors with practically no leakage in the off state. On the other hand, some NEMS devices may have some drawbacks such as, for example, their relatively large footprints. For example, NEMS devices, whose switching is based on beam connectors that run in a horizontal direction relative to the substrate surface, can have significantly larger footprint in comparison to transistors fabricated with similar design considerations. There have been proposals for vertical electromechanical switch devices in which the electrodes and connector follow a vertical arrangement relative to the substrate, for example in US patent application 2008/0035928 A1, as an attempt to try to mitigate the relatively large footprints of NEMS. These state of the art proposals however still present additional connection problems that need to be solved. There is therefore a need to improve such vertical electromechanical switch devices and methods for manufacturing such devices.